Bob Mould is a man in a hurry.
Bounding onstage like an exuberant teenager playing his first ever show, with just his Stratocaster for company, he launches into ‘The War’, from 2014’s ‘Beauty and Ruin, and sets the scene for an 90-minute aural onslaught.
Despite the limited instrumental backing, it’s LOUD, with the former Husker Du frontman quickly working up a sweat in the basement venue. Songs come thick and fast, almost in the style of the Ramones but minus the separating “1-2-3-4″s – ‘Flip Your Wig’ and ‘I Apologise’, both Husker Du tunes, come and go without outstaying their welcome, before things slow down – marginally – with a ferocious, electrified take on Sugar’s ‘Hoover Dam’.
It was a similar one-man-band setup Mould offered when I first saw him play live – at the Sub Club. No, not promoting his electronic-based album ‘Modulate’, but in fact not long after the band he formed with Grant Hart and Greg Norton had split. Instead of crowd-pleasing, ear-searing takes on his back catalogue, he instead concentrated on material from his solo albums ‘Workbook’ and (possibly, it was a while ago) ‘Black Sheets of Rain’.
And what some of the crowd tonight would have given to hear some of Mould’s guitar mastery – the intricate fingerstyle of ‘Sunspots’ or the anthemic jangle of ‘Wishing Well’. Well, to be fair, he throws in ‘See A Little Light’, which is ironic, as it’s doused in distortion, like the rest of the set. Light and shade are is exactly what is missing most tonight.
A check of setlist.fm suggests that he also played ‘Sinners and their Repentances’ but it may be that my hearing, or maybe my engagement had completely gone by this time, as classic after classic is thrashed out at 100mph and 1000 decibels, like he’s set up halfway down Sauchiehall Street rather than in an intimate venue on Byres Road. “Busker Du”, as one attendee says (cheers, Carrie).
‘Celebrated Summer’ is a standout as the set grinds on, probably because of its familiarity as a bona-fide classic track, but for anyone unfamiliar with all of Mould’s recent back catalogue – an album every couple of years – there’s a tendency for one song to merge into another. On record – or with the three-piece band he has toured with in the past – it’s quite a different proposition, with Mould’s knack for generating catchy, sticky melodies fully displayed. But tonight, even his Top 30 hit single, ‘If I Can’t Change Your Mind’, steamrollers the audience, forced to sing the “do-de-do-de-do-de-do-de-day” guitar hook because Bob is busy powerchording his long-suffering Strat to within an inch of its life.
Fingers crossed that this great musician will be back soon – but next time, with some bandmates… or even a selection of guitars and pedals.